Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 259 Confusing the real with the fake
The officials in the court had no objections to Liu Bei's explanation.

After all, all the officials were worried about being implicated in the poisoning case of Empress Dowager Dong and the assassination plot against Liu Xie—everyone knew that once this matter was brought up, it would never end and would inevitably involve many people, making things difficult for everyone.

Zhang Rang stepped forward and removed the Empress's crown, and still no one objected.

Jiang Li acted quite well; although she didn't say much, no one could tell.

Liu Bei quickly called out to Jia Xu: "Wenhe, take He Shi to the imperial prison."

This matter should have been handled by the Minister of Justice, Cui Lie, but now it can only be entrusted to Jia Xu…

Jia Xu emerged from the corner with a worried expression, sighed, and walked up to Cui Lie: "Please give me a token, Lord Cui."

Nobody wanted to do this job, but Jia Xu was genuinely worried and didn't put on an act at all.

Liu Bei discreetly clasped his hands in an apologetic gesture to Jia Xu.

Cui Lie breathed a sigh of relief and immediately took out the Court of Justice's token and handed it to Jia Xu—Cui Lie couldn't wait to get rid of this hot potato.

The Imperial Censor's token was a token used to enter the Imperial Prison. It was made of bamboo and wood and was used when escorting important figures into prison. It also served as a receipt for imprisonment. The prison warden would record the time, crime, and other details on the token for record-keeping.

After Jia Xu led the Empress out of the palace, Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief: "Lord Cui, quickly get the court meeting over..."

Now that the 'Empress' has appeared and all the officials have seen her, the matter is relatively easier to handle. It all depends on whether Jia Xu can make proper arrangements.

……

Jia Xu was always very efficient in his work, even more so than Liu Bei had imagined.

He led Jiang Li around the prison where Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji were located...

Upon seeing the 'Empress,' Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji rushed to the prison gate, their faces filled with terror: 'How could this be?!'

Jia Xu didn't reply, but instead turned to the warden and instructed, "Former Empress He confessed to murdering the Crown Prince's mother and other crimes in court. She has been stripped of her crown and imprisoned awaiting orders... Empress He has shown remorse for her past transgressions, so it's likely she has surrendered herself and won't suffer much. Send her plenty of good wine and food and treat her carefully..."

The warden was covered in sweat, but he could only agree. The Imperial Court's warrant was in Jia Xu's hands, which meant that the matter had obviously been discussed by the court.

There are indeed special areas in the imperial prison for members of the royal family. They are quite luxurious, even better than the guesthouses, and are considered VIP cells.

This supreme VIP cell was not far from Yuan Wei's cell—both Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji were considered VIPs, as the hierarchy in the imperial prison was very clear.

Once the 'Empress' was in the imperial prison, the warden quickly led his men to get supplies and food for her, and indeed dared not neglect her.

Jia Xu strolled past Yuan Wei again, only to be stopped by Yuan Wei: "Jia Zhizhong? Mr. Jia... what... what happened? Why is the Empress imprisoned?"

During this time, Jia Xu was in Luoyang and even attended court assemblies. Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji both recognized him.

"The imperial court is deliberating on the crime, what else could it be?"

Jia Xu turned to look at Yuan Wei, then at Yuan Ji in the next cell: "I'm afraid you two won't be getting out. The Empress has confessed that your nephew Yuan Shao was the one who plotted to assassinate the Crown Prince. This will surely be a crime punishable by the execution of your entire clan. You two would better make plans soon, lest your remains be torn to pieces..."

Yuan Wei remained relatively calm, but Yuan Ji was both shocked and furious upon hearing this: "How is this possible... How is this possible?!"

Jia Xu looked at Yuan Ji in surprise: "What? You think no one knows what you've done? The Empress has confessed everything..."

Yuan Ji glared at Jia Xu: "When have I ever done anything illegal?!"

Jia Xu shook his head and deliberately stepped forward to ask in a low voice, "Grand Master Yuan, His Majesty has had countless women but has no children for a long time. Yet, he met Lady He and became pregnant after just one night of passion... She gave birth to a child and raised him in the home of Daoist Shi, and you also frequently visit Daoist Shi's home... Do you really think no one suspects anything?"

This is obviously fabricated out of thin air... but when it comes to fabrications, the false often becomes true.

Because most people enjoy palace intrigue, especially when it involves the empress and princes, they are more inclined to portray the false as true and the true as false...

Yuan Ji turned his head, looked at Jia Xu with his kind and benevolent face, and suddenly realized: "Jia Wenhe! You want to frame me?!"

At this moment, the warden had already returned with his men, carrying some bedding, fruit platters, and the like.

Jia Xu turned his head and saw the jailer passing by. He deliberately whispered, "Grand Master Yuan, Madam He asked me to give you a message... For the sake of my son's life, I have no choice but to do this. I bid you farewell now and will return to you in the future."

Although the voice was low, the warden happened to walk past Jia Xu and obviously heard it.

The warden looked at Yuan Ji strangely, then at the direction of 'Empress He', only to see 'Empress He' also leaning against the cell door, looking pitifully at Yuan Ji, her face suddenly turning deathly pale, almost unable to walk.

Yuan Ji was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then immediately cursed, "Jia Wen..."

"Shut up!"

Jia Xu suddenly shouted, then turned around and patted the warden on the back: "What did you hear?" "What? Heard what? My hearing isn't good..."

The warden ran away in a flash.

Jia Xu turned back around and looked at Yuan Ji with a half-smile.

Yuan Ji looked like he wanted to devour Jia Xu alive.

Yuan Wei's expression changed drastically at this moment, and he quickly asked Jia Xu, "Mr. Jia, is this Lord Liu's intention? Is there any way for us to reconcile with Lord Liu? I, Yuan, am willing to help Lord Liu become Grand Tutor..."

"What? You don't know why Magistrate Liu's mother died? Oh... you probably wouldn't care about such trivial matters, and there's also Magistrate Liu's father, Zuo Chong..."

Jia Xu asked Yuan Wei a question in return, and then stared at Yuan Ji.

"Liu Shijun's mother? What happened?"

Yuan Wei did seem to be quite unclear about it.

"Your Yuan family sent assassins to kill Liu Yu, resulting in the death of Liu Yu's mother. Yuan Shao assassinated a prince, leading to the death of Liu Yu's tutor. Your Yuan family's subordinate, Xu You, murdered the entire family of General Zuo Chong, and Liu Yu's wife was Zuo Chong's orphaned daughter..."

Jia Xu then spoke frankly with Yuan Wei: "Reconciliation? How can we reconcile? Do you think Lord Liu is like you, someone who only cares about his own interests?"

Yuan Wei lowered his head and sighed, "It's still uncertain who will win... Doesn't Mr. Jia think about his own future?"

"I'm thinking about my own future, otherwise I would have shut you up long ago..."

Jia Xu shook his head and smiled, glancing around to make sure no one was there, and whispered, "Yuan Ciyang... the place you are in right now is also the place where the late Grand Commandant Duan was imprisoned. Although it was rebuilt after the fire, it is no different from the Luoyang Prison before... After the court meeting, someone will interrogate you. You should know that under the Five Poisons, any confession is possible..."

As he spoke, he 'leaked' a flint and steel from his person and placed it outside Yuan Wei's prison gate.

Seeing that the leak was a bit too far, Jia Xu took two more steps toward Yuan Ji and kicked the flint and steel in front of Yuan Kui.

Yuan Wei's face was pale, and he squatted down with trembling hands.

As Jia Xu walked out of the imperial prison, he saw the warden at the gate, his face pale and his hands trembling. Kindly, he stepped forward and said, "You seem to be feeling quite unwell..."

The warden immediately nodded: "Yes, yes, I'm sick, very sick... I need to take sick leave..."

Not long after, the warden disappeared.

An hour later, Jia Xu led his men into the prison again and made the "Empress" sign the court document, which was to put her fingerprint on the confession.

However, after Jia Xu left the prison with the documents, the prison no longer contained Jiang Li, but rather the corpse of Empress He herself.

Jiang Li changed back into his eunuch attire and returned to Liu Xie's side.

It was exactly 5 PM, and the court assembly ended at this time.

……

Pingcheng Gate.

This is the south gate of Luoyang.

Yuan Shao was discussing matters with Feng Fang, who was serving as the military assistant and city gate officer.

"...Master Feng, regarding your daughter's matter, I wonder if you have made a decision?"

Yuan Shao was, of course, proposing a marriage alliance.

"The highway already came this morning... Why is Prinz coming to inquire again?"

Feng Fang looked at Yuan Shao with a face full of surprise: "I've already sent Gonglu to my home to propose marriage..."

"what?"

Yuan Shao was stunned, then gritted his teeth and asked, "Gonglu... left the city through this gate this morning?"

Feng Fang nodded: "Yes, they left at noon, saying they were going to prepare the betrothal gifts... How could Benchu ​​not know?"

"...Ha...It's nothing. The highway is in such a hurry that it didn't even tell me..."

Yuan Shao forced a smile and shook his head, saying, "I've come to request Feng to open the city gates. The General wants to summon the Northern Army and the Western Garden Army to Luoyang..."

(End of this chapter)